James Gunn has made it clear that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would be his final time behind the camera for the MCU franchise, and the movie did serve as a fitting send-off for the team - but it also laid the groundwork for potential follow-ups/spin-offs at the same time.
One post-credits scene introduced a new incarnation of the team led by Rocket Raccoon, and the other teased the possibility of a solo Star-Lord adventure, with Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) returning to Earth to reconnect with his grandfather.
Gunn was asked about the possibility of a fourth GOTG movie being developed by Marvel Studios with a different director, and admitted that he would "love" to see the franchise continue and trusts Kevin Feige to find the right person to take over.
"Kevin and I get along really well. Although some characters won't return, I would love for GotG to continue with the current+ members and would trust Kevin to choose the right person for it."
As for Quill, Gunn recently addressed that final "The Legendary Star-Lord Will Return" title card on the film's Blu-ray commentary, and it sounds like there are indeed tentative plans in place for a spin-off focusing on the (former) leader of the Guardians' effort to adapt to life back on Terra.
"Oh, but not quite over. We always want to give somebody a little something special. And Chris and I, forever, have talked about how great it would be to be able to do a 'Legendary Star-Lord' movie, a story with Star-Lord on Earth trying to adapt to the environment of Earth in the same way that somebody else might try to adapt to the alien environment of outer space. He's a fish out of water in just kind of regular water. So I can't wait to see it."
How would you feel about more GOTG movies without Gunn at the helm? Drop us a comment down below.
"In Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 our beloved band of misfits are settling into life on Knowhere. But it isn’t long before their lives are upended by the echoes of Rocket’s turbulent past." "Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him on a dangerous mission to save Rocket’s life—a mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them."
Gunn writes and directs Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, and Maria Bakalova. Kevin Feige is the producer and Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Nikolas Korda, Simon Hatt, and Sara Smith serve as executive producers.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now available on Digital platforms and Disney+.